Yukida Kenji
Yukida Kenji (Japanese: 雪田 劔持, Yukida Kenji; ''also 劔持王, ''Kenji-ou, ''literally King Kenji, 王様, ''Ousama, literally King) is the head of the Yukida family, as well as the king of Ezo, Grand Marshall of its army, and Fleet Admiral of its fleet. Later he also becomes enthroned as Shogunal-Emperor, a new form of monarchy in the Empire of Greater Japan. He is often considered the richest, or a least one of the richest people in Reynaerdia. Life Kenji was conjured in the Lykogene of Sapporo, the capital city of Ezo. His genus is 60% Sapporoan Ainu and 40% Kyotoite, the latter being of imperial blood, making Kenji related to the Imperial family of Japan. Infancy When Kenji was a little prince, he was raised by his uncle Airou (Japanese: 愛郎, Airou), who also took responsibility as regent of Ezo until Kenji's coming of age. Kenji, whilst being the future king of Ezo, where the ideal man is talented in fine arts, a good warrior and educated in many sciences, had a quite tight schedule in his youth. On a typical day, he would study music, both classical and traditional, he would study science, mostly alchemy and chemistry, he would practice various martial arts, like kenjutsu, aikido, as well as magical arts, kuji-in magic, laying emphasis on controlling the element of water, he would also get education in the art of war, studying things like tactics and war technology and playing Shogi, but not a day would go by without a meditation with the royal monk, Tenkai Gyaku (Japanese: 天海客僧, ''Tenkai Gyaku Sou, ''Monk Tenkai Gyaku) sometimes in the royal garden, but also in the Shinzen monastery in Sapporo. Calligraphy, painting, and poetry also were part of the weekly routine. Appearance Kenji is a little bit taller than the average Ezoan, has black hair, and classic Ezoan facial hair. He most often wears his hair in a topknot, as is customary for high Ezoans, adorned with a hairpin. Being the king of Ezo, he often wears the short-sleeved clothes of nobility, complete with the pelisse like cloth and the sash over his right shoulder, but with an additional cape on his back. One remarkable thing about Kenji's appearance, though, is his metal-clad left eye. This has resulted from some form of divine magic, after Kenji decided that he had to get a powerful curse (the king's curse) in that particular eye under control. When he burned his eye with flammables and acids, instead of becoming scar-tissue, it became an ornate brass replacement. His eye was replaced with a shining ruby. This metal ornament became a symbol for Kenji, and he never showed himself to public without deliberately showing it ever since (as it can be hid from sight). On his arms are little pieces of his Ainu heritage, namely tattoos of Ainu patterns. However, as nothing in the Royal family goes without a little magic, these tattoos are not ordinary tattoos. They are visible reminders of a piece of Hakuyami's spirit housing in Kenji. When sinful desires arise in Kenji's mind, or fury engulfs his heart, this tattoos expand towards his body, legs and head, eventually covering him up in his entirity. When this has happened, take-over of Kenji's inner Hakuyami is imminent, causing him to turn into the god, unable to control his bloodthirst, lust or whatever caused the transformation. This will also happen when Kenji is fatally wounded or in lethal danger. Kakushiki-ka When sporting kakushiki-ka (rank-lowering), he changes his name into Shigeru Kitada. With certain rituals, involving Hakuyami-practises like opium incense and sulfur burning, as wel as Shinto purification rituals, with salt and water, he gets rid of his brass eye. However, he won't get rid of the king's curse residing in it. Instead it becomes uncontrollable, thus Kenji (or Shigeru in this case) is obliged to wear an eye-patch. He always comes up with different excuses for this. Additionally, he wil have to smoke special cigarettes infused with a small amount of opium every couple of hours in order to keep the spell alive. If he stops doing so, mostly by means of going to sleep, the brass and ruby will slowly return. When he is Shigeru Kitada, he just wears formal Sebiro-kimono, and he will cut of his topknot in order to comb his now shorter hair backwards. Claiming to be a rich investor or industrialist most of the time, he tells people that he lost his eye in a factory accident, in war, or in an attempted assassination, depending on how much he wants to impress the asker of the question. He rarely reveals his Ainu tattoos, which logically never happens when wearing a Sebiro. Abilities Martial arts Kenji's weapon of choice is the katana ("Kenji" means "he who bears a sword"). It is told that he has practiced kenjutsu since he could read, and that he first held a sword within 4 hours of his conjurance. He has also studied various other sword-based martial arts, to be prepared for whoever might attack him, whether he be Chinese or Persian. He is also skilled in Nito style swordmanship, which means using katana in one hand and wakizashi in the other. The second martial art practiced fanatically by Kenji is aikido, which he uses both in unarmed situations (or when facing an unarmed opponent) and in combination with his armed skills. This results in very swift movements, almost like he is dancing with a sword, said to be like water, an element associated with him in a number of ways. Magical abilities Kenji is a skillful practicioner of kuji-in magic, laying emphasis on controlling the element of water, but he also likes to use it to intrude ones mind. For example, he can tell when somebody lies, and with a little effort he can read the truth in ones thoughts. Although he could use the combatant seals very well on the battle field, he never does. This is because he is the leader of an army, therefor someone who must be an example for his warriors, who mostly don't practise magic. Thus, he wouldn't be a proper example when he executes techniques not able to be followed by his fellow men. Additionally, he wouldn't attack an opponent who is not able of kuji-in with kuji-in.Category:Characters